NDP health critic shot down on request for emergency debate on Zika

FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2016, file photo, a female Aedes aegypti mosquito acquires a blood meal on the arm of a researcher at the Biomedical Sciences Institute in the Sao Paulo's University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Aedes aegypti can spread the Zika virus. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

NDP health critic Don Davies was shot down on his request for an emergency debate on the Zika virus today in the House of Commons. Speaker Geoff Regan denied Davies’ request, saying it doesn’t meet the criteria.

Davies told iPolitics that he’s disappointed, but also heartened the Speaker left the door open somewhat if conditions change.

“The Speaker chose his words very carefully,” Davies said.

“In turning it down, which is his prerogative … his last words were ‘…at this time’. And he said it very deliberately.”

“I got the message he felt that the conditions were just not there yet.”

Zika is suspected to be linked to microcephaly, a birth defect that causes abnormally small heads in babies resulting in brain damage. The Health Minister has previously said there is “no reason to believe that local transmission is a concern for Canadians.” The type of mosquito that transmits it is not found in Canada because of the climate.

At the same time, Davies said, Canadian Blood Services has stopped taking donations for a period of time from people travelling back from countries that have been known to have Zika because it might spread via blood. That, he says, is enough cause for concern and reason to have a debate on it. Hawaii recently declared a state of emergency over mosquito borne illnesses, including dengue fever and Zika.

“Already the Canadian and American authorities are not taking blood donations from people traveling from Zika affected areas,” Davies said. “The United States is concerned Zika might be transmitted sexually. To me, all of the conditions are there, all of the warning signs for us to be taking this seriously and get out in front of it.”